First Time Spinning Around

Everybody is talking about spinning class and how it gets you in shape in a burst of time. Finally, we tried a spinning class with my husband after talking like 6+ months about it. Here is my experience of a first timer and beginner to cycling world:

Welcome to the newbie spinning world. So go ahead and tell the teacher you are new. I didn’t do this and regretted it a lot, you will see why. I arrived late to the class and jumped on the bike. I didn’t know the seat can be adjusted or the peddles. I started paddling yet it was waaay too hard. I thought “Yeah, that’s because you are new, you do not have any strength!” Nope! It wasn’t like that at all. Later when teacher adjusted something in between her legs and everybody followed I noticed they can paddle faster. Voilà! You can adjust the resistance on your paddle. I was so naive to start along with the hardest resistance. So go ahead and ask your teacher or at least take my advice and turn it down a little if you are new.

You are going to sweat a lot, more than you imagined you will do. Bring water along. I did not know where to put it at first and put it on the floor which is a rookie mistake. You have to stop and get on the ground and drink water and continue, you see the looots of ‘and’s here! Then I checked others and realized there is a little spot on the bike between your legs where you can put your bottle and drink easily. Noone told me about it! You see why I want you to talk to your teacher? OK if not, bring water and drink it with a cool I know where everything is attitude as I told you where everything is.

As part of the sweating culture, bring a towel to wipe it off. It is impossible to stop sweating but it will help the sweat getting to your eyes and make you feel better. A small one that you can put on the handle will suffice.

Not all spinning classes have heart rate monitors. If you are new and do not exercise regularly, invest in a tracker for yourself and use it. It will help you adjust your heart rate and monitor calories burned down. I had one but didn’t thought of bringing along with me until class was finished. It is good to count and also give yourself an applause once you see how much you accomplished.

Your body will be sour after the first time. That shows it is working but take good care of your body and listen to it. Take a hot bath to ease the muscles after the workout. You can give yourself a rest for a few days after your first class. Just don’t let the suffering take you over!

As I am writing this to you my legs stretched and my butt still hurts from the class, I think I should remind myself and you to not get discouraged. Like most things, it probably takes time to build up. Let’s see where things will go…